1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication apparatus, a communication program, and a communication method, which are configured to perform communication through a communication network adopting a short-distance wireless communication method, or more specifically to a communication apparatus, a communication program, and a communication method, which are configured to acquire identification information allocated to a communication apparatus in the vicinity and to initiate communication.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, along with diffusion of short-distance wireless communication methods such as wireless LAN (IEEE802.11b, for example) used in the case of a relatively short distance between communication apparatuses, a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) compatible to the short-distance wireless communication method, a digital camera, a television (TV) set, a printer, and the like (these apparatuses are hereinafter referred to as “communication apparatuses” as appropriate) are applied.
Since a communication apparatus moves in a wireless communication network applying the above-described short-distance wireless communication method, there is a case where another communication apparatus located in the vicinity of the foregoing communication apparatus is expected to be a communication counterpart when initiating the communication.
For example, when a plurality of TV sets (connection candidate communication apparatuses) are connected to a wireless LAN and image data saved in a digital camera having a wireless LAN card is displayed on a TV set, it is desirable to connect between a TV set located in front of the digital camera and the digital camera in that case. In other words, it is desirable to initiate communication between that TV set and the digital camera.
However, identification information such as an IP address to be allocated to each communication apparatus is determined regardless of the location of the communication apparatus. Accordingly, it is not easy to specify the IP address of the communication apparatus located in the vicinity.
Given this fact, there has been disclosed a method for acquiring an IP address of a communication apparatus located in the vicinity as a prospective communication counterpart using a short-distance wireless communication method (such as the IrDA) which is different from a wireless LAN, and initiating communication with the communication apparatus as the communication counterpart through the wireless LAN based on the acquired IP address (refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-32175 (P. 17 to 18, FIG. 20), for example).